Ant Group Splits Alipay into Two Units in Latest Restructuring Move
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Ant Group, the fintech giant affiliated with Alibaba Group Holding, is splitting the business group of its mobile payment platform Alipay into two units, in its latest corporate restructuring move aimed at driving new growth, according to the South China Morning Post.
The company will establish the Digital Payment Business Group and Alipay Business Group, and adopt a "rotating presidential system" for the two units with each president serving a six-month term. This information was revealed in an internal letter circulated by Ant president Cyril Han Xinyi on Monday, seen by the South China Morning Post.
The Digital Payment Business Group will focus on developing innovative payment products, integrating five departments including the Online Payment Business Unit and Offline Payment Business Unit. The Alipay Business Group, which covers six units including advertising and digital products, will focus on user base growth and monetization of Alipay.
"For Alipay, the change means the mobile payment platform has achieved 'phased results in its transformation from a tool-based software to the internet'," Han stated in the letter, adding that it also demonstrated Alipay's commitment to digitizing the service industry.
This latest move follows a sweeping reorganization launched by Ant in March, where it announced a restructuring of operations into several independently-run business units. These include its overseas unit Ant International, database operation OceanBase, and Ant Digital Technologies, each with its own boards of directors. The reorganisation also saw Han promoted to company president, replacing Eric Jing Xiandong.